Sunday, 10 April 2011

Anarcho-Monarchism - the Details

What is Anarcho-Monarchism? It happens to be the political system which evolves out of the ethical beliefs I hold. Here are some common questions I get asked about it.1. Isn't Anarcho-Monarchism an oxymoron? Monarchy is absolute rule of a King and anarchy is no rule at all!In a word - No. The important aspect here is the correct definition of terms. "Anarcho" is used as defined by Murray N. Rothbard: "anarchist society [is] one where there is no legal possibility for coercive aggression against the person or property of any individual". And "Monarchism" is the doctrine which allows for and emphasizes extreme despotic right of individuals over their property (allodial property). Furthermore, Monarchism advocates a hierarchical structure in society in which the natural elite are able to, without any use of coercion of aggression, guide people in the most favorable direction of development. Used in this sense, the term "Monarchy" may be associated with medieval feudal relations or perhaps even modern trends toward Direct Democracy. 2. Anarcho-Monarchism seems uneforcable and is therefore not functional. Who could enforce such a subjectivist system?This critique is answered, in my opinion, by entire hosts of Anarcho-Capitalism literature. To put it simply, Anarcho-Monarchism relies on self-defense and voluntary collective defense. It does not oppose states as such - it opposes states as compulsory monopolies of law-making and law-enforcement. According to my mode of thinking medieval "states" were not really states. Modern states are artificial creations of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau.3. Isn't Anarcho-Monarchism based on virtue ethics rather than "objective (libertarian) ethics"?This criticism is to some extent correct. The purely objective ethic, however, does not really exist. Anarcho-capitalism may indeed be as value free as ethics can get - it implies only the non-agression axiom - but it does not say anything about organization of society beyond the existence of spontanious order (as developed by the market). I do not disagree with any anarcho-capitalist theories. I do, however, think of what facilitates the most overall human efficiency as well as preserving human freedom. Anarcho-Monarchism is a fusion of anarcho-capitalism with Spencerian social-darwinist thought.